Keyboard operated machine



Dec. 4, 1934. A. THOMAS .ET AL KEYBOARD OPERATED MACHINE 5 Sheets-She et 1 Filed Feb. 17, 1951 l-ve|-rrm=s=- A.THUMAS Er RIC. E. BLAMEY PzR1- 4 A A-r-runuiY.

Dec. 4, 1934. THOMAS AL 1,983,154

KEYBOARD OPERATED MACHINE I I s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 17, 1951 Imvxzw-rms A THOMAS ATTORNEY 3 A. THOMAS ET AL 1,983,154

' KEYBOARD OFERATED MACHINE Filed Feb. 17, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 EFE LlTIiI'W] 51 52 U A-r-ronuzY.

Dec. 4, 1934. A. THOMAS ET #1. 1,983,154

' KEYBOARD OPERATED MACHINE ,Filed Feb. 17, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 l-vs--rows A.THUMAE 5; E. 0.5. ELAMEY PER /7 AT'T'OPNIY.

Dec. 4, 1934. A. THOMAS ET AL KEYBOARD OPERATED MACHINE Filed Feb. 17,1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOPSI' A.'|"HDMAS fr ROE. BLAMEY PERI AI'TDENEY Patented Dec. 4, 1934 PATENT OFFICE 1,983,154 1 KEYBOARD orresrnn MACHINE Arthur Thomas, Thornton Heath, and Reginald Charles Everest Blamey, Purley Oaks, England, 35513110135120 The Accounting & Tabulating Corporation of Gt. Britain Limited,

England London,

Application February 17, 1931, Serial No. 516,302 In Great Britain February 28, 1930 1}: Claims. (01. 164112) This invention relates to keyboard operated machines such as typewriters and machines for perforating statistical cards and has for its object to provide means for automaticallyreturning the carriage on depression of a key. The in vention is particularly. applicable to card periorating machines in which members, for operating perforating punches are initially set by means of key operated setting members mounted in a carriage adapted to travel over banks of punches. A perforating machine of thiskind has been described in the specification of Thomas U. S. Patent application Serial No. 419,974, now Patent No. 1,858,174 in which machine, means are provided for automatically returning the carriage when the punching mechanism is setin operation and the present invention when applied to such a machine provides .an additional means of returning the carriage independently of the punching mechanism should an error in setting occur. g

Another object, of the invention is to provide means for back spacing of the .carriagegupon: the manual actuation of the back space key.

" .The features of the present, invention will be. more clearly understood fromthe' following description and the appended claims. 1 i i .The inventionwmay be carried out in various ways, but one construction according thereto is illustrated byway of example in the accompany ing drawings, in which: i

, Figure l is a general view, showing the Car? riage return mechanism and; the backspacing mechanism in elevation; 1 n j Figure 1a is a continuation of Figure l.

Fig. 1b is a plan view of one member show ingthe details of construction.

, Figure 2.is an end view looking in tion of the arrow in Figure 1; j i H 4 1 Figure 3 is a detailed view of the carriage return mechanism; and q Figure 4 is another detailed view further showing the carriage returnmechanism.

In the construction illustrated in the drawings the carriage return mechanism comprises 'a sleeve 1, running freely ona shaft 2 (Figures 2 and 4'.) and having fixed to'it at one end a gear wheel 3 driven through a train of gears 4 from the driving motor M of themachine. Also secured to the sleeve 1 is a ratchet wheel 5 and freely mounted on the sleeve adjacent the ratchet isa disc 6 carrying a pawl '3 normally held in engagement with the ratchet by means of a spring 8, so that unless the pawl is acted upon by some external mechanism it will engage with the the direcratchet and drive the disc continuously so long as the machine is running. The disc 6 is connected to a gear wheel 9 also mounted freely on the sleeve 1 and connected through suitable gearing 10with a rotatable toothed disc 11 serving to return the carriage by means of an arm 12 carrying a pulley 13 disposed in a loop of the cable 14 which is attached to the carriage and passes over a jockey pulley 60, the other end of the cable 14 being anchored to a wheel 61, loose- 1y mountedon a sleeve 62 adapted to rotate on a spindle 63 projecting from the machine frame. The wheel 61, carries a stop 64 adapted normally to engage a fixed abutment 65 on the sleeve 62 under the pressure of a spring66, which surrounds the sleeve and is connected at one end to the wheel 61, and at the other end to the ma,- chine frame. A notched disc 67 is secured to the sleeve 62, and one arm of a manually operable bell crank 68 is adapted to engage a notch in the disc 67, so that as the carriage is moved from its normal position, the stop 64 is held against the fixed abutment 65 under the action of the spring 66, to thereby constitute a resilient anchorage iorthe cable, and if for any reason during the return of the carriage, it is arrested before reaching its initial position, the wheel 61 is rotated against the action of the spring 66, and the stop 64 withdrawn from the abutment to the necessary extent. This apparatus is clearly shown and described PatentqNo. 1,858,174 to A. Thomas, granted May 10, 1932, and in British Patent Specification No. 328,255. g Adjacent the pawl 7 is pivoted a stop lever which normally maintains the pawlclear of the ratchet 5, by means of an abutment 1511 on the lever engaging with a tail 7a onthe pawl and is adapted to be actuated by means. of a Bowden cable 16 connected to thecarriage return key. On depression of the carriage return key the abutment on the stop lever 15 is withdrawn from the tail of the pawl 7 and is'retained in its withdrawn position by engagement with a latch 18 on the lower end of a pivoted lever 17 of which the upper end 17a is adaptedto be engaged with the roll 19 on the main carriage return disc 11. This latch will be referred to later. The ratchet 5 is thus connected to the disc 6 through the pawl and the disc 6 is caused to rotate thereby drivingthe carriage return disc 11.

The roll 19, during rotation of the carriage return disc 11 pressses down the lever 12 until it is in a substantially horizontal position when the carriage is returned. Disc 11 continues to rotate, however, until the roll 19 engages the upper end 110 17a of the pivoted lever 17 whereby the latch 18 on the lower end of said lever is disengaged from the stop lever 15, and the latter permitted to reengage the pawl 7 and withdraw the pawl from engagement with the ratchet 5, the carriage return disc 11 thereupon stops.

In order to ensure that the action of the spring on the pawl 7 does not drive the disc backwards and thus allow the pawl to re-engage, means are provided whereby at the stopping point a pressure is exerted which overcomes any pressure of the pawl spring, such means conveniently comprising a spring pressed friction washer 20 to retain the disc in position.

A Bowden wire connection is arranged to be operated from the keyboard and to press on the lower end of the stop lever 15 so that upon the cable being operated from the keyboard the stop lever is swung in anticlockwise direction clear of the pawl 7, and the pawl immediately engages with the ratchet wheel 5. In order to prevent the disc 6 from being continuously rotated should the key be held down, mechanism may be incorporated in the carriage return mechanism according to the invention, for the purpose of preventing the stop lever from being held clear of the pawl'by the action of the key itself for more than the period required for the return of the carriage, but since the main rotating disc 11 carrying the carriage return arm 12 makes one revolution to return the carriage to its initial position, and since such movement of the main disc necessitates more than one revolution of the ratchet disc, means may be provided for automatically maintaining the pawl clear of the ratchet, not merely while the disc 6 makes one revolution, but until the main disc has returned to its position of rest.

To this end the pivoted lever 17 is provided at its lower end with the pivoted latch piece 18 resting normally against an abutment 170 formed on the lever 17. A spring 21 is provided to hold the latch 18 in the down position when the Bowden cable 16 is operated and the stop lever 15 swung clear of the pawl, whereupon a recess 22 in the abutment 15a on the stop lever engages with the latch 18 so that when the cable is released the stop lever does not return but is held by the latch. The latch remains in engagement with the stop lever until the roll 19 on the main carriage return disc 11 meets the upper end of the pivoted lever 17, whereupon said lever 17 is moved by the roll 19 in a clockwise direction and the latch 18 is disengaged so as to allow the stop lever 15 to fall in the path of the pawl 7 and prevent further rotation of the ratchet disc 5.

In order to permit operation of the carriage return mechanism from the punch key, the latter may be connected up as shown in the specification of Thomass U. S. Patent No. 1,858,174, or a lever 23 loosely carried on a continuously rotating shaft 24 of the motor M may be provided. To connect the lever 23 to the shaft 24, the punch key P, see Fig. 1a, is connected by a Bowden cable to a pivoted lever 71 having a turned over end 72 provided with an oblique slot engaging with a depending pin 73, carried on a bar 74. This bar is connected to a pivoted cam member which normally holds a spring pressed plunger 76, on the lever 23, clear of dog teeth 77, mounted on the shaft 24. When the punch key is operated, the pivoted lever 71 is rocked clockwise and the obliquity of the slot therein causes the bar 74 to slide axially to the rear and rotate the cam 75 clear of theplunger 76, which thereupon springs into engagement with the dog teeth 77, whereby the lever 23 is rotated with the shaft 24. The bar 74 and cam 75 are returned by a spring 78 so that after one revolution of the shaft 24 the plunger is withdrawn from the dog teeth by engaging the surface of the cam member 75. The above described mechanism is similar to that shown and described in the specification of Thomass U. S. Patent No. 1,858,174 for connecting the carriage return mechanism to the power on depression of the punch key. The lever 23 co-operates with a pivoted lever 25, connected by a link 26 to one end of the stop lever 15, so that as the lever 23 rotates it strikes the lever 25 and thereby withdraws the stop lever 15 from the pawl 7 to connect the carriage return disc 11 to the power shaft 2.

It will be seen, therefore that two keys are provided to operate one and the same carriage return mechanism, one key serving to operate it independently of the punch mechanism, while the other key operates it simultaneously with the punch mechanism.

When the punch key is connected up to the rotary member 11, in the manner described in the specification of Thomass U. S. Patent No. 1,858,174, it is necessary to provide a free wheel device between the disc 6and the gear 9, so that when the gear 9 is rotated from the punch key, it will over-run the disc 6. To this end an outstanding lug 27a on a plate 27, loosely mounted on the shaft 2, is arranged to engage a corresponding lug on the disc 6 under the action of a spring 27b connecting the plate 27 to the gear 9. If the gear 9 is rotated from the punch key, the lug 27a rotates away from the corresponding lug on the disc 6 and snaps past the same at each complete revolution, whereas, when the disc 6 is driven from the ratchet wheel 5, a driving connection is established between the lugs, whereby the gear 9 and the rotatable member 11 are driven.

Conveniently, the back spacing mechanism in- In order to obtain the desired movement of the rack 28, two cam slots 30 are cut one in each end of the rack. By means of these slots the rack is carried on shouldered pins 31 fixed in stationary blocks 32 so that if the rack is moved longitudinally its path of travel will follow the path of the cam slots. Pivoted to the carriage is a pawl 33 normally held upward by a spring so that it rests against a bar 34, its face, however, being wide enough to extend back beyond the bar and engage the rack. The action of moving the rack longitudinally will cause the rack to descend and engage with the pawl 33 and further movement will move the carriage as far as the cam slot will allow.

In order to restore the particular column of set bars 35 at the same time as the carriage movement takes place, a rocking lever 36 is pivot-ally connected by means of a link to the lever 34 and also by a link 37 to the restoring lever 38 for the set bars, whereby when the rack descends it rocks the lever 36 and thus forces the restoring lever 38 into action. The nose of the restoring lever 38 operates on the set bar latches 39 and releases the particular set bar latch and so allows the set bars to return to their normal or inoperative and to prevent the mechanism from jamming when the carriage is at its fully returned position, the connection of the eccentric rod is preferably made to a separate lever 43, this lever being in turn connected to the bell crank plate 42 by means of a spring 44. The normal position of the eccentric is with the rod in its extreme upward position. If the eccentric is given a full revolution the rod will make one stroke down and up again, and the rack will consequently make one stroke and return. a

Theeccentric is loosely mounted on the sleeve 1 adjacent the ratchet wheel 5, but on the other side thereof from that on which the disc 6 is situated. As previously described, the sleeve 1 is driventhrough a train of gears from the driving motor of the machine, so that the sleeve and the ratchetare constantly rotated when the machine is running. A pawl 45 is mounted on'the side of the eccentric and has a nose 46 formed to engage with the ratchet wheel with which it is normally held in engagement by means of a spring so that unless the pawl is acted upon by some external mechanism, it will be engaged with the ratchet, and will drive the eccentric continuously.

There is, however, provided a stop piece 47 v in theform of a double lever pivoted to a fixed bracket 48, said lever being normallyretained by a spring 49 in a vertical position with its lower end resting against the end of a Bowden cable 50.

, When the stop lever is in this position, it stands r the action of the spring on the pawl does not drive the eccentric backwardsfand so allow the pawl to re-engage, means are provided whereby, at the stopping point, a pressure is exerted which overcomes any pressure of the pawl spring. Such meansmay conveniently comprise a spring 51, attached to the eccentric rod 41.

The Bowden wire 50 which presses against the lower end of the stop lever 47 is arranged to be operated from the keyboard so that upon the cable being operated by the back space key, the stop lever is swung in an anti-clockwise direction clear of the pawl, and the pawl immediately engages with the ratchet wheel and the eccentric 29 makes one revolution. In order to prevent repetition action should the key be held down, means may be promechanism is as followsz The back spacer key on the keyboard is ,de pressed, and the relay mechanism causes an 1311-,

pulse to be given to the Bowden cable 50 which operates the stop lever 47 whereby the pawl 45 is releasedfand engages with the ratchet wheel 5, causing the eccentric 29 to make one revolution, which movement is transmitted through thesecentric rod 41 and its connection to the rack The-rack makes its movement, first down to engage the pawl 33, and then laterally to the left, moving the carriage a distanceequal to one space, the rocking lever 36 being rocked by the downward movement of the rack, operates the restoring mechanism to restore thecolumn selection and the completion of the revolution of the eccentric brings the rack back to its normal position, leaving the carriage free for operation.

It will be appreciated that one of themost important features of this mechanism is that the one revolution of the operating eccentric causes a fulloperating stroke and a return stroke to be accomplished so that there is no necessity for the. provision of any means for returning the rack after disengagement of the clutch.

What we claim is:

1. In a keyboard operated machine the combination of a ratchet wheel, means for causing said ratchet wheel to rotate continuously while the machine is running, a rotatable disc mounted coaxially with and adjacent to said ratchet wheel, a pawl pivoted on said disc, means tending to force the pawl into engagement with the ratchet, means for holding said pawl normally free from the ratchet, back spacing mechanism, an operative connection between the disc and said back spacing mechanism, a back space key, and an operative connection between said key and the pawl holding means, whereby on depression of the key the pawl is permitted to engage with the ratchet thereby causing actuation of the back spacing mechanism.

2. Ina keyboard operated machine the combination of a ratchet wheel, means for causing said ratchet wheel to rotate continuously while the machine is running, an eccentric disposed coariallywith and adjacent to said ratchet wheel, a pawl pivoted on one face of said eccentric, means tending to force the pawl into engagement with the ratchet, means for holding said pawl normally free from the ratchet, back spacing mechanism, a strap for said eccentric, an operative connection between the eccentric strap and the back spacing mechanism, a back space key, and an operative connection between said key andthe pawl holding means, whereby on depression of the key the pawl is permitted toengage with the ratchet thereby causing actuation of the back spacing mechanism.

In a keyboard operated machine the combination of a ratchet wheel, means for causing said ratchet wheel to rotate continuously while the machine isrunning, an eccentric disposed coaxially with and adjacent to said ratchet wheel, apawl pivoted on one face of said eccentric, means tending to force the pawl into engagement with the ratchet, a pivoted stop lever normally holding the pawl free from the ratchet, back spacing mechanism, a strap for said eccentric, an operative connection between the eccentric strap and the back spacing mechanism, a back space key, andan operative connection between said key and the pivoted stop lever, whereby on depression of the key the stop lever is withdrawn from the pawl and the pawl is permitted to engage with the ratchet thereby causing actuation of the back spacing mechanism.

,4. In a perforating machine the combination of. a carriage, acable in the form of a loop of which one end is anchored and the other attached to the carriage, a movable arm, a jockey pulley carried on said arm and disposed within the loop, a rotatable member adapted to engage with the arm, a ratchet wheel, means for causing said ratchet wheel to rotate continuously, a rotatable gso disc mounted coaxial with and adjacent to said ratchet wheel, an operative connection between said disc and said rotatable member comprising a pawl pivoted on said disc, means for holding said pawl free from said ratchet and means tending to force said pawl into engagement with the ratchet, a carriage return key, and an operative connection between said carriage return key and the pawl holding means whereby on depression of the key the pawl is released and permitted to engage with the ratchet whereby the carriage is returned.

5. In a perforating machine the combination of a carriage, a cable in the form of a loop of which one end is anchored and the other attached to the carriage, a movable arm, a jockey pulley carried on said arm and disposed within the loop, a rotatable member adapted to engage with the arm, a ratchet wheel, means for causing said ratchet wheel to rotate continuously, a rotatable disc mounted co-axial with and adjacent to said ratchet wheel, an operative connection between said disc and said rotatable member comprising a pawl pivoted on said disc, means for holding said pawl free from said ratchet and means tending to force said pawl into engagement with the ratchet, a carriage return key, an operative connection between said carriage return key and the pawl holding means whereby on depression of the key the pawl is released and permitted to engage with the ratchet whereby the carriage is returned, punching mechanism, a punch key and an operative connection between said punch key and the pawl holding means whereby the pawl may be released by actuation of the punch key independently of the carriage return key.

6. In a erforating machine the combination of a carriage, a cable in the form of a loop of which one end is anchored and the other attached to the carriage, a movable arm, a jockey pulley carried on said arm and disposed within the loop, a rotatable member adapted to engage with the arm, a ratchet wheel, means for causing said ratchet wheel to rotate continuously, a rotatable disc mounted co-axial with and adjacent to said ratchet wheel, an operative connection between said disc and said rotatable member comprising a pawl pivoted on said disc, means tending to force said pawl into engagement with the ratchet and a pivoted stop lever normally holding said pawl free from the ratchet, a carriage return key, and an operative connection between said carriage return key and the stop lever whereby on depression of the key the stop lever is withdrawn from the pawl and permits the said pawl to engage with the ratchet whereby the return of the carriage is effected.

'7. In a perforating machine the combination of a carriage, a cable in the form of a loop of which one end is anchored and the other attached to the carriage, a movable arm, a jockey pulley carried on said arm and disposed within the loop, a rotatable member adapted to engage with the arm, a ratchet wheel, means for causing said ratchet wheel to rotate continuously, a rotatable disc mounted co-axial with and adjacent to said ratchet wheel, an operative connection between said disc and said rotatable member comprising a pawl pivoted on said disc, means tending to force said pawl into engagement with the ratchet and a pivoted stop lever normally holding said pawl free from the ratchet, a carriage return key, an operative connection between said carriage return key and the stop lever whereby on depression of the key the stop lever is withdrawn from the pawl and permits the said pawl to engage with the ratchet whereby the return of the carriage is effected, and means for holding said stop lever clear of the pawl until the carriage has returned.

8. In a perforating machine the combination of a carriage, a cable in the form of a loop of which one end is anchored and the other attached to the carriage, a movable arm, a jockey pulley carried on said arm and disposed within the loop, a rotatable member adapted to engage with the arm, a ratchet wheel, means for causing said ratchet wheel to rotate continuously, a rotatable disc mounted co-axial with and adjacent to said ratchet wheel, an operative connection between said disc and said rotatable member comprising a pawl pivoted on said disc, means tending to force said pawl into engagement with the ratchet and a pivoted stop lever normally holding said pawl free from the ratchet, a carriage return key, an operative connection between said carriage return key and the stop lever whereby on depression of the key the stop lever is withdrawn from the pawl and permits the said pawl to engage with the ratchet whereby the return of the carriage is effected, a pivoted double armed lever, a trip member on the rotatable carriage return member, said trip member being adapted to engage with one end of the double armed lever, in the normal position of the carriage return member and a pivoted latch on the other end of said lever, adapted to engage with and hold the stop lever when said stop lever is withdrawn from the pawl whereby said stop lever is held free of the pawl until the carriage is returned and the trip member strikes the end of the double armed lever thereby causing the latch to be disengaged from the stop lever.

9. In a perforating machine the combination of a carriage, a cable in the form of a loop of which one end is anchored and the other attached to the carriage, a movable arm, a jockey pulley carried on said arm and disposed within the loop, a rotatable member adapted to engage with the arm, a ratchet wheel, means for causing said ratchet wheel to rotate continuously, a rotatable disc mounted co-axial with and adjacent to said ratchet wheel, an operative connection between said disc and said rotatable member comprising a pawl pivoted on said disc, means tending to force said pawl into engagement with the ratchet and a pivoted stop lever normally holding said pawl free from the ratchet, a carriage return key, an operative connection between said carriage return key and the stop lever whereby on depres sion of the key the stop lever is withdrawn from the pawl and permits the said pawl to engage with the ratchet whereby the return of the carriage is effected, punching mechanism, a punch key, a cam, a pivoted actuating lever co-operating with said cam, an operative connection between said actuating lever and the stop lever and an operative connection between the cam and the punch key whereby depression of the punch key sets the cam in motion and causes actuation of the stop lever.

10. In a perforating machine the combination of a carriage, a cable in the form of a loop of which one end is anchored and the other attached to the carriage, a movable arm, a jockey pulley carried on said arm and disposed within the loop, a rotatable member adapted to engage with the arm, a ratchet wheel, means for causing said ratchet wheel to rotate continuously, a rotatable disc mounted co-axial with and adjacent to said ratchet wheel, an operative connection between said disc and said rotatable member comprising a pawl pivoted on said disc, means for holding said pawl free from said ratchet and meansv tending to force said pawl into engagement withthe ratchet, a carriage return key, an operative connection between said carriage return key and the pawl holding means whereby on depression of the key the pawl is released and permitted to, engage between the ratchet whereby the carriage is returned, an eccentric disposed co-axial-.

1y with and adjacent to. said ratchet wheel, a pawl pivoted onone face of said eccentric, means tending to, forcethe pawl into engagement with the ratchet, means for holding said'pawlnormally free fromthe ratchet, back spacing mechanism,

a strapfor said eccentric, an operative connection between the eccentric strap and the back spacing mechanism, a back space key, and an operative connection between said key and the pawl holding means whereby on depression of thekey the pawl is permitted to'engage with the ratchet thereby causing actuation of the. back spacing mechanism.

,,,11. In, a perforating machine the combination of a carriage, a cable in the form of a loop of which one end: is anchored and the other attached to the carriage,"a movable arm, a jockey pulley carried on said arm and disposed within the loop, a rotatable member adapted to engage with the arm, a ratchet wheel, means for causing said ratchet wheel to rotate continuously, a rotat able disc mounted coaxial with and adjacent to said ratchet wheel, an operative connection between said disc and said rotatable member comprising apawl pivoted on said disc, means tending to force, said pawl into engagement with the ratchet and a pivotedstop lever normally holding said; pawl free from the ratchet, a carriage return key, an operative connection between said ,-carriage return key and the stop lever whereby on depression of the key the stop lever is withdrawn from the pawl and permits the said pawl to engage with the ratchet whereby the return of the carriageis effected, means for holding said ,stop lever clear of the pawl until the carriage has returned, an eccentric disposed co-axially with and adjacent to the ratchet wheel, a pawl pivotedon one face of said eccentric,means tending tOwfOlCfl the pawl into engagement with the ratchet, means forholding saidpawl normally free from the ratchet, back spacing mechanism, astrapfor said eccentric, an operative connection; between the eccentric strap and the back spacing mechanism, a back spacekey and an operative connection between said key and the pawl holdingmeans, whereby on depression of the key the pawl is permitted to engage with the ratchet thereby causing actuation of the back spacing mechanism.

12. In a perforating machine the combination of a carriage, a cable in the form of a loop of its.

which one end is anchored and the other attached to the carriage, a movable arm, a jockey pulley carried on said arm and disposed within the loop,

a rotatable member adapted to engage with the a pawl pivoted on said disc, means for holding said pawl free from said ratchet, means tending to force said pawl into engagement with the ratchet and a carriage return key, an operative connection between said carriage return key and ratchet wheel, a pawl pivoted on one face of said eccentric means tending to force said pawl into engagement with the ratchet, means for holding said pawl normally free from the ratchet, back spacing mechanism, a strap for said eccentric, an operative connection between the eccentric strap and the back spacing mechanism, a back space key, and an operative connection between said key and the pawlholding means whereby on depression of the key the pawl is permitted to en-- gage with the ratchet thereby causing actuation of the back spacing mechanism.

13. In a perforating machine the combination of a carriage, a cable in the form of a loop of which one end is anchored and the other attached to the carriage, a movable arm, a jockey pulley car ried on said arm and disposed within the loop, a rotatablemember adapted to engage with the arm, a ratchet wheel, means for causing said ratchet wheel to rotate continuously, a rotatable disc mounted co-axial with and adjacent to said ratchet wheel, an operative'connection between said disc and said rotatable member, a pawl piv oted on said disc, means tending to force said pawl into engagement with the ratchet, a pivoted stop lever normally holding said pawl free from the ratchet, a carriage return key, an operative connection between said carriage return key and the stop lever whereby on depression of the key the stop lever is withdrawn from the pawl and permits the said pawl to engage with the ratchet whereby the return of the carriage is effected, means for holding said stop lever clear of the pawl until the carriage has returned, an eccentric disposed co-axially with and adjacent to the ratchet wheel, a pawl pivoted to one face of said eccentric, means tendingto force the pawl into engagement with the ratchet wheel means for holding said pawl free of the ratchet, back spacing mechanism, a strap for said eccentric, an operative connection between the eccentric strap and the back spacing mechanism, a back space key, and an operative connection between said key and the pawl holding means, whereby on depression of the key the pawl is permitted to engage with the ratchet thereby causing actuation of the back spacing mechanism.

14. In a record card controlled perforating machine, the combination of a carriage, a rotary member, a source of power, a second rotary member adapted to be continuously rotated from said source of power, clutch means for connecting the second rotary member to the first to bring the first rotary member back to a predetermined position of rest, means for returning the carriage by the first rotary member during the movement of the latter, a punch key, means whereby operation of said key connects the first rotary member to the source of power, a separate key and an operative connection between the separate key and the clutch means, whereby operation of said separate key connects the first rotary member to the source of power, declutching means actuated by the first rotary member for automatically disconnecting the first rotary member from the source of power, when it reaches said position of mil rest, back spacing mechanism for the carriage, a second clutch means for connecting the back spacing mechanism to the second rotary member, a back spacing key and an operative connection between the back spacing key and the second clutch means, whereby operation of said back spacing key connects the back spacing mechanism to the source of power.

15. In a perforating machine, the combination of a carriage, a cable in the form of a loop, of which one end is anchored and the other attached. to the carriage, a movable arm, a jockey pulley carried on said arm and disposed within the loop, a rotatable member, a trip roll on said rotatable member adapted to engage said arm, whereby the carriage is returned while said rotatable member makes one complete revolution, a ratchet wheel, a source of power, means for causing said ratchet wheel to rotate continuously from said source of power, a rotatable disc mounted coaxial with and adjacent to said ratchet wheel, an operative connection between said disc and said rotatable member, a pawl pivoted on said disc, means tending to force said pawl into engagement with the ratchet, a pivoted stop lever normally holding said pawl free from the ratchet, a carriage return key, an operative connection between the carriage return key and the stop lever, whereby on actuation of the key, the stop lever is withdrawn from the pawl and permits said pawl to engage the ratchet, whereby the carriage is returned by the trip roll on the rotatable member, a pivoted double armed lever adapted to be engaged by said trip roll in the normal position of the rotatable member, a pivoted latch on the other end of said double armed lever and means whereby said latch engages and holds said stop lever, when the said stop lever is withdrawn from the pawl until released by the trip roll, upon the completion of one revolution of the rotatable member.

I 16. In a record card controlled perforating machine, the combination of a carriage, a cable in the form of a loop, of which one end is anchored and the other attached to the carriage, a movable arm, a jockey pulley carried on said arm and disposed within the loop, a rotatable member, a trip roll on said rotatable member adapted to engage said arm, whereby the carriage is returned while said rotatable member makes one complete revolution, a ratchet wheel, a source of power, means for causing said ratchet wheel to rotate continuously from said source of power, a rotatable disc mounted coaxial with and adjacent to said ratchet wheel, an operative connection between said disc and said rotatable member, a pawl pivoted on said disc, means tending to force said pawl into engagement with the ratchet, a pivoted stop lever normally holding said pawl free from the ratchet, a carriage return key, an operative connection between the carriage return key and the stop lever, whereby on actuation of the key, the stop lever is withdrawn from the pawl and permits said pawl to engage the ratchet, whereby the carriage is returned by the trip roll on the rotatable member, a pivoted double armed lever adapted to be engaged by said trip roll in the normal position of the rotatable member, a pivoted latch on the other end of said double armed lever and means whereby said latch engages and holds said stop lever, when the said stop lever is withdrawn from the pawl until released by the trip roll, upon the completion of one revolution of the rotatable member, a punch key, and means connecting said rotatable member to the source of power on actuation of the punch key, whereby the carriage is returned, an eccentric disposed coaxially with and adjacent to the ratchet wheel, a pawl pivoted to one face of said eccentric, means tending to force the pawl into engagement with the ratchet wheel, means for holding said pawl free of the ratchet, back spacing mechanism, a strap for said eccentric, an operative connection between the eccentric strap and the back spacing mechanism, a back space key, and an operative connection between said key and the pawl holding means, whereby on depression of the key the pawl is permitted to engage with the ratchet thereby causing actuation of the back spacing mechanism.

17. In a key board operated machine, such as a typewriter or a machine for punching or other wise forming records on statistical cards, the combination with a carriage of a power operated movable member for returning the carriage, means for causing the said member to make a predetermined movement, means by which the carriage is returned by the movable member during the said predetermined movement, declutching means for disconnecting the movable member from the power and means whereby the said declutching means is actuated by said movable member at the termination of said predetermined movement, said mechanism including a punch key, a earn, a pivoted actuating lever adapted to cooperate with said cam, an operative connection between said actuating lever and the stop lever and means for connecting said cam to the source of power on actuation of the punch key, whereby the cam is set in motion and causes operation of the stop lever.

ARTHUR THOMAS. REGINALD C. E. BLAMEY. 

